to lay in the plastic grass

This is a series of photographs of dioramas in natural history museums, national park visitor centers, and zoos. These cultural and scientific institutions claim a certain authority in the representation of wilderness. By naming these different habitats, sectioning them off from each other, and claiming authenticity about these rigid categories, the world is divided into categories that separate out humans from “natural” environments. These habitats are to be looked at, but not interacted with. They are to be experienced and managed, but not inhabited. Furthermore, these dioramas are not value-neutral; they reveal a set of beliefs that have led us to construct the ideal landscape. It is not a habitat, but a scenery. These photographs are meant to confuse the viewer's perception of the authenticity of these scenes. Like the dioramas, these photographs have a static, inorganic existence—unmoving, unchanging, and untouchable.